Giant Orange Slug (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

GIANT ORANGE SLUG
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: Bite (1d3)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Acidic spit; Acidic skin; salt
Move: 3
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Giant orange slugs are similar to their smaller slug kin, except that they are larger and bright orange. They can grow up to 5 feet in length and are usually bright orange with purple spots or stripes. They are found in areas of wet climates or in continually damp places, such as caves and subterranean complexes. They feed on decaying vegetation and fungi.

COMBAT: Giant slugs are generally passive creatures and will not attack unless attacked or provoked. They bite with a raspy mouth.

ACIDIC SPIT: Giant slugs can spit acidic slime up to 10’ that does 2d4 in damage. They can do this once per round up to three times per day.

ACID SKIN: Coming into contact with the skin of a giant slug does 1 point of damage per round of contact.

SALT: Slugs are particularly vulnerable to the effects of salt and take 1 point of damage per pound of salt applied to their skin.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 25 Notes

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): Dan
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
Marcus Aurelius (Magic Sword): NPC
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session: Part 1
The brave adventurers ended the last session (Session 24) in Room 1 (Map A above), where they had bedded down for the night. The room was a gnome holy area and the party awoke the next morning (the start of Session 25), fully healed and ready to go.

They moved through Room 2 and headed northwest to Area 3, where they discovered three empty 20' x 30' rooms. Then they explored a little further west and opened the door into Room 4. This room was not empty. It contained to demons--a giant one shaped like an amoeba and faceless one wearing a hooded robe with numerous tentacles coming out of the bottom of it.

Duncan cast a color spray on the smaller one, which fizzled. This left him and his crystal golem vulnerable to counter-attack as the rest of the party was still in the corridor. The amoeba demon did a quick one round beat down that left Duncan lifeless. Thinking quickly, Dante grabbed Duncan's lifeless body by the feet (he was right next to the door) and dragged him to safety. Luven spiked the door closed. Duncan's crystal golem was left to his fate, which was likely decided in very short order.

Diana offered the suggestion of taking Duncan's corpse back to Rooms 1 and 2--the gnome holy place. They went as quickly as possible and dunked their dead gnome companion into the gnome pond in Room 2. His wounds were healed but his life was not restored. The party then took Duncan into Room 1. He was resurrected but the magical tree in the room died.

At this point, the party noticed that Diana's eyes were almost all pupil. Dante and Adzeer thought that her eyes had the same weird blackness as the black blobs the party met up with in Session 1 and Session 24. They asked her if she was feeling alright. She told them that she was sick in the mornings and that her clothes were starting to fit a little tight, but she attributed the weight gain to the good food they were eating. She said she did feel odd when they were fighting the black blob in Session 24 (she was not in the room during the battle). Session 1).

The group told Diana to take a swim in the gnome pool, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Not having any other ideas, the party left Room 2. It had felt to her like something was kicking her insides in her lower abdomen. Adzeer and Dante conferred privately coming up with contingency plans in case she was pregnant with the black blob's baby (the party had rescued her from a black blob at the end of Session 1).

The party then explored some other areas--Areas 5, 6 and 7. There they found rooms upon rooms with dwarven sarcophagi. They searched the sarcophagi and found considerable gold and silver--all in the form of small bars--along with a few small magic items.

In Room 8, they met up with an ancient dwarven woman, who shrieked at them about robbing the dwarven graves. The woman was pointing at them with an accusing finger and waving a large scroll in her other hand. Luven tried to explain in his own simple way, but this only made matters worse. Finally Adzeer, wearer his Belt of the Dwarvenkind, was able to calm her down. She handed him the large scroll and dissipated into a piled of dust.

The party opened the scroll. It was long and made little sense. It described all sorts of weird visions and horrific things. The strangest part is that it looked to Dante like it was written in his own hand writing. Dante decided that, if he did write, it was written sometime in the future, as he could not recall writing it. A cursory reading of the scroll did hint at some familiar elements and some clues to the Montporte Dungeon [you can see the contents of the scroll here].

The party then moved out of the dwarven tomb area and moved back south into the mines. They explored the mines in more detail, mapping out Areas 9, 10, 11 and 12. In Area 12, they discovered a group of seven large horned turtles, grazing on bits of fungus. Duncan decided to ride one as a response to a dare/bet by Luven.

The turtle tried to buck Duncan off his back, which caused the other turtles to stampede. Much to Duncan's surprise, these turtles were fast...faster than a horse at a gallop. Duncan jumped off before he was carried off but then tried to follow the turtles as they ran east. This led the party to Area 13, which they realized connected to an area close to the dungeon exit. They decided to leave the dungeon and head into Montporte to resupply.

The Session: Part 2
Dante suggested that the party drop Ansarkhan the mushroom man off with his master, Allindrihl the elven mushroom farmer. Ansarkhan was still in a catatonic state after the party's encounter with the black blob in Session 24.

Allindrihl thought that Asnarkhan might be suffering from some form of insanity and he was not sure that he could do anything for him, but he would try. The party asked him to also look after Diana and check her over. She could stay with Allindrihl, as his guest, while the rest of the party went back to Montporte.

Allindrihl asked if the party had delivered his map to Daria, the leader of the rebels. He had asked the party to do this back in Session 16. There was a bit of hemming and hawing, until Adzeer said "No, not yet."

Adzeer asked for directions again and Allindrihl said, "Go to one of the two spiral staircases on Level 1, go down to Level 2, then go east. Keep going and you'll find her...or she will find you."

With the loss of Ansarkhan and the crystal golem, plus the weird things happening with Diana, the party was suddenly a bit smaller and more troubled.

This is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2

Jinome (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

JINOME
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: Small spears or clubs (1d4)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Laughter; Music; Spells
Move: 7
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Jinomes are undead gnomes. They live in forests in or near lands that are tainted or deeply evil. Jinomes travel in small bands and appear in forests at night to hunt their prey. Despite their undead state, jinomes still possess the intelligence, cleverness, and prankster characteristics found among the gnomes, only in this case it has been twisted by long-term contact with evil.

Jinomes are turned as zombies by clerics.

COMBAT:  Jinomes feed on the fear and confusion of their victims so they prefer to use their specialized attacks from a distance rather than engage in melee combat. If forced into combat, they will attempt to attack any gnomes in the opposing party.

LAUGHTER: Groups of three or more jinomes are able to unleash hideous cackling laughter that causes confusion to those within 40’ for those creatures failing their saving throw. The jinomes may use this ability once per day.

MUSIC: Groups of six or more jinomes are able to create lively but disturbing music that causes nausea for those within 40’ who fail their saving throw. Nauseated opponents have a -1 penalty to their attack rolls. Jinomes can play this music but once per day but they can continue playing until they are physically attacked. The nausea will last 1-6 turns after the music stops.

SPELLS:  Each jinome can cast Darkness, 15 ft Radius and Mirror Image once per day.

Note: The jinome appeared in The Manor #4. Special thanks to Tim (Gothridge Manor) for giving me the thumbs up to share it on my blog (I did create it but he was gracious enough to include it in his zine).

Monday Moodsetter 37

by Bjorn Hurri

RPG Rorschach: What's the first gaming thought that pops into your head?

Flying Cubic Lizard (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

"Flying Cubic Lizard" by Little Larry

FLYING CUBIC LIZARD

Armor Class: 6 [13]

Hit Dice: 1

Attacks: Bite (1d8)

Saving Throw: 17

Special: n.a.

Move: 12

Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

The flying cubic lizard is a cube-shaped reptilian beast with 4' X 4' X 4' dimensions. It is has a lizard head, but no legs or tail. Its body is covered in blue-green shimmering scales, which could be quite valuable if the creature is skinned after it is killed. It moves by flying, although it has no visible means for flight.

Most unsettling of all are the faces it has on each of its two flanking sides (one large human face on each side). These two human faces are non-functional, but this fact is not obvious to the casual observer.

COMBAT: The flying cubic lizard is an aggressive foe in combat, attacking any normal creature or opponent until it or its opponent is dead. 

Note: The flying cubic lizard was created by using James Edward Raggi IV's "Random Esoteric Creature Generator for Classic Fantasy Role-Playing Games and their Modern Simulacra."

Linen Golem (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

LINEN GOLEM
Armor Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: Sleeve slap (1d3) x 2
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Cleric spells; Blunt weapon resistance; Immunity to magic
Move: 8
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

A linen golem is typically created by a powerful cleric to a guard key area in a temple or shrine. A linen golem is an animated vestment and is capable of following the simple commands of its creator.

COMBAT: The linen golem is not an especially dangerous foe to a well-armed prepared opponent, but it is capable of driving off the weak or casual individual who has intruded into sacred space. The linen golem attacks by slapping its opponents with its sleeves, possessing two attacks per round that each do 1d3 points of damage on a successful strike.

CLERIC SPELLS: A linen golem can cast one first or second level cleric spell per day. Each linen golem is given one such spell at its creation and it can be cast once per day when certain conditions are met or the linen golem is attacked.

BLUNT WEAPONS: Blunt and non-edged weapons do half damage against the linen golem.

IMMUNITY TO MAGIC: Like other golems, a linen golem is immune to magic. The linen golem will take normal damage to magical and non-magical fire-based attacks.

Note: The linen golem appeared in The Manor #4. Special thanks to Tim (Gothridge Manor) for giving me the thumbs up to share it on my blog (I did create it but he was gracious enough to include it in his zine).

Aur-Mornder (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

AUR-MORNDER
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: Pickaxe (1d6) or by weapon type
Saving Throw: 14
Special: Dexterity Drain; Move Silently; Deepvision
Move: 30
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Aur-mornder are Dwarven undead. They are created when dwarves become filled with gold lust to such an extent that it has replaced their life force. They live on as undead, inhabiting mines and other remote areas, searching for and mining phantom gold deposits.

Aur-mornder appear as dwarfs, but their flesh is gray and flaky and their eyes are black and without pupils. Their skin is very cold to the touch and they speak with thin, raspy voices.

Aur-mornder have a hatred of the living, particularly of dwarves. They will attack them on sight, assuming that other dwarves have come to jump their claim and steal their gold.

Aur-mornder can be turned by clerics. They are turned as ghouls.

COMBAT: Aur-mornder are aggressive, yet crafty, in combat. While they ignore unintelligent beasts and vermin, they generally assume that intelligent creatures, particularly dwarfs, are out to steal their mining area and gold. They will use their move silently ability to ambush their opponents whenever possible.

DEXTERITY DRAIN: Upon a successful strike with their weapon, an aur-mornder will drain 2 points of dexterity from its opponent, unless the opponent makes a constitution saving throw. The dexterity points lost are regained at 1 point per hour.

MOVE SILENTLY: An aur-mornder is able to move silently as a third level thief.

DEEPVISION: Aur-mornder can see in complete darkness (excluding magical darkness) up to 120’.

Beer Ooze (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

BEER OOZE
Armor Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: Slosh (1d2)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Surprise; Nausea; Inebriation
Move: 3
Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

Beer ooze forms when barrels of beer are stored for exceedingly long periods near magical locations. They appear as foamy puddles on the floor near kegs or barrels of beer.

COMBAT: A beer ooze will attack those who come close to it. It has the ability to form appendages that slosh its opponents for 1d2 in damage.

SURPRISE: A beer ooze can surprise an unsuspecting opponent on a roll of 1-4 (1d6).

NAUSEA: The beer ooze has a nasty odor that causes nausea in those creatures with a sense of smell. Creatures coming within 10’ of the beer ooze must make a saving throw or be stricken with nausea for 1d4+1 turns. The nausea causes a 1d4 temporary loss of dexterity and a penalty of –2 on all attack rolls.

INEBRIATION: When a beer ooze successfully strikes its opponent, that opponent must make a saving throw or become inebriated. The effects of the beer ooze’s inebriation powers is cumulative. The first time an opponent is affected, the opponent is slightly inebriated and temporarily loses 1 point of intelligence and wisdom. When a slightly inebriated opponent is affected a second time by the beer ooze, the opponent becomes moderately inebriated and temporarily loses 2 more points of intelligence, 3 more points of wisdom, 2 points of dexterity and has a –1 penalty on attack roles (in addition to any other penalties). The third time an opponent is affected by the beer ooze, they become greatly inebriated, losing 3 more points of intelligence, 3 more points of wisdom, 2 more points of dexterity, and in penalized an addition –4 on attack roles (in addition to any other penalties). The fourth time the opponent is affected, they become comatose.

Note that successful constitution saving throws negate the inebriation effect of that particular attack but do not “sober up” the opponent. Inebriation may be negated with neutralize poison.

Note: The beer ooze appeared in The Manor #4. Special thanks to Tim (Gothridge Manor) for giving me the thumbs up to share it on my blog (I did create it but he was gracious enough to include it in his zine).

Crystal Golem (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

CRYSTAL GOLEM
Armor Class: 1 [18]
Hit Dice: 25 hit points
Attacks: Tiny crystal fists of fury (1d4) x 2
Saving Throw: 9
Special: Immune to most spells; Immune to normal fire; Resistant to magical fire; Hit only by magical weapons
Move: 6
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800

Crystal golems are small golems, created by gnomes. They are typically 4’ tall and made of a hard clear crystalline substance. Each crystal golem is made with a separate controlling crystal, which looks like a piece of quartz. This controlling crystal is often attached to a heavy necklace. The owner of the crystal controls the golem and that person is able to give simple instructions to the golem. Gnomes are able to successfully control the golem while possessing the controlling crystal. For other races possessing the controlling crystal, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the golem will not carry out each command.

COMBAT: Crystal golems use their tiny crystalline fists in combat, getting two attacks per round. They attack as 5 hit dice creatures.

MAGIC IMMUNITY: Crystal golems are immune to most forms of magic. They take normal damage from electrical-based spells and are also subject to damage from fire-based spells (see below).

FIRE IMMUNITY/RESISTANCE: Crystal golems are immune to normal fire and gain a +4 to saving throws versus magical fire. They take half damage from fire-based spells and other forms of magical fire.

IMMUNE TO NON-MAGICAL WEAPONS: Crystal golems are immune to non-magical weapons. They are not immune from attacks from “outsiders,” such as dragons, fey, and demons, although they do gain a +2 armor class bonus against such creatures.

Cave Goat (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter)

CAVE GOAT

Armor Class: 7 [12]

Hit Dice: 2

Attacks: Ram (1d6)

Saving Throw: 12

Special: Charge attack

Move: 13

Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Cave goats are similar to their domestic and wild counterparts, except that they are more muscular. They are typically 3’ in height and weigh 120-150 pounds. They are gray in color with long shaggy coats.

Cave goats are highly prized by subterranean creatures because of their tasty meat (yummy!) and warm coat. The coat of the cave goat is prized by goblins and others because it is repellent to most tiny vermin, such as fleas and lice, making it ideal as bedding.

Cave goats are often domesticated because of their usefulness in mining (they can carry up to 50 pounds without encumbrance and up to 100 pounds total), their wool, and their milk production. Their climbing ability surpasses that of their mountain goat kin (climb as a 1st level thief). Cave goats typically forage and require little in the way of feeding, so long as they have access to cave fungus and debris.

COMBAT: Cave goats are not predators and will usually try to put distance between themselves and a perceived threat. However, they are unpredictable and they are aggressive when cornered or defending their territory. 

CHARGE: Cave goats will charge their opponents where and when possible, so long as they have 10’ of clear space to do so. They gain a +1 to attack and damage, but also have a –1 penalty to their AC when charging.

RESILIENCE: Cave goats are tough creatures with very hardy constitutions, which is why they have a saving throw target of 12.

DEEPVISION: Cave goats can see in complete darkness (excluding magical darkness) up to 120’.

The Cave Goat was originally posted on this blog on April 17, 2013, as part of Swords & Wizardry Week.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 24 Notes

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): Dan
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
The brave adventurers finished the last session (Session 23) in Room 1 (Map A above). Not seeing any other avenues to explore except north, the party moved north and into Room 2. There they found a secret door leading into Room 3. Like the other rooms in this area, the room was so well crafted by the dwarves that the door hermetically sealed the room.

The room contained a bookshelf with 20 well-preserved volumes. Adzeer, now equipped with the Belt of Dwarvenkind, sensed the ancient nature of the books and the powerful magic used to preserve them. The first ten books were entitled, The Chronicles of Dwarven Construction (volumes 1 through 10). The other ten books were entitled, The Chronicles of Dwarven Construction (supplements 1 through 10).

The party decided to pack up the books into one of their portable holes. When they did so, they noticed that a section of pages had been carefully removed from from Supplement 9. Adzeer opened the book to see if there was a reason that the pages might be missing. From the Table of Contents, Adzeer determined that the missing section was entitled Chapter 15: Construction Notes from the Elementalist Monastery.

A careful examination of the book with the finder's lens and the Lens of Melnar turned up two human hairs, long and blonde, with the faint auras of an invisibility spell and pass without trace spell. Duncan determined that, while the spells were not recent (as in a few hours or days), the spells had been cast within the last year.

The party suspected that the hair might belong to Daria. The party first encountered her as Alleena, a novice of the breeders (Session 13). They later learned from Allindrihl the elven mushroom farmer that Alleena was really Daria, leader of the rebellion against the breeders (Session 16). The possibility that Daria had taken part of the dwarven book reminded the party that they were asked by Allindrihl to deliver a map of level 1 to Daria (Session 16). They had not completed this task yet.

Armed with new knowledge and maybe a bit regretful at their neglect of a simple request from Allindrihl, the party headed back into Room 4 (Map A above). Here they had fought two demons (Session 22) but there was no trace of the demon remains, despite the short passage of time.

The party moved to the east out of Room 4, into previously unexplored territory. They found a cluster of small rooms (Area 5 on Map A). The rooms exhibited the same excellent construction that they had seen in other rooms in this part of the Montporte Dungeon.

From Area 5, the party moved south and found a secret door in the ceiling of the passage (Area 6 on Map A above). The secret door led them into a sarcophagus, just like they had experienced in Session 20. Climbing out of the sarcophagus, they entered into Room 7.

Room 7 contained a couple of orcs, a couple of crab men (minions of the breeders, first encountered in Session 17), and a big black amoeba-like blob. They had encountered a similar black blob in Session 1. The party had surprised the odd collection of creatures, which allowed four of the party members to assemble in the room via the sarcophagus before melee combat ensued.

The battle was a tough one. There were two more crabmen and four kobold archers who joined the fray from Room 8. Dante took out all of the kobolds and two of the crabmen with a sleep spell, which gave the party the upper hand. Adzeer took considerable abuse from the black blob, who shot some sort of black beam at him every round.

The black blob affected everyone in the room in a mysterious way, forcing everyone to make a will saving throw each round. Those who failed lost a point of wisdom. Adzeer and Duncan knew from previous experience (Session 1) that they would eventually recover their lost wisdom. However, Ansarkhan, with a low wisdom and a higher saving throw target, proved to be particularly vulnerable. He eventually lost his focus, stood in a catatonic state, and then collapsed the next round into a babbling inert mass.

The party prevailed, but were unable to revive Ansarkhan. He was loaded onto a cave goat. The party then searched the sarcophagi in Rooms 7, 8, and 9 (Map A above). This yielded considerable gold and silver bars, along with lots of dwarven bones (which were left as they were found).

The party then moved north and Duncan sensed power emanating from the east (Area 10 on Map A above). However, Adzeer was determined to explore further north and west. The party went into Room 11 and then into the corridor beyond it to the west. Finding nothing, they went back to Area 10. There was a wooden door there with a very small symbol of a tree and pond, not visible unless one was very close to the door.

Duncan entered and found a pool in Room 12, fashioned in a stylized way to mimic nature. Duncan recognized this as gnomish and jumped in. He felt a sense of well-being permeate his body (he gained a point of constitution). His crystal golem, made by gnomes, was repaired by the water. The non-gnomes in the party received no benefit from the water.

The party continued east into Room 13. Duncan recognized this space as sacred to his people. Written on the east wall in the gnome language were these words:
Herbs and leeks
Flowers and thorns
Seeds of the field
Fruit of the tree
Magical earth,
Drawn to the sky

Living and dying
The path goes down
The enlightened heart
Will live beyond,
To the treasure we go

Duncan did not recognize the words but he recognized the meter and was able to sing the words. He realized that the above words fit the tune of The Garden Song, the most popular folk song sung by gnome children. The modern version of The Garden Song goes like this:
Potatoes and leeks
Herbs and corn
Barley and rice
Garlic and thorn
Carrots and more

Roses and daisies
Poseys and boxes
Hollies and pines
Maple and oak
The treasure of the earth

The party puzzled over the lyrics, wondering why the modern words were different from the ancient lyrics. No answer struck them, so they continued to explore. They checked out the room, paying attention to the living tree and the soil at the southern end of the room. Finding nothing, they entered Room 14 (Map A above). This room contained a blackened slab of stone (about 6' x 6" and 2' tall). Duncan recognized this as another sacred space, where the gnomes cremated their dead (the custom of their people). After searching the room, the party retired to Room 13.

The party decided to bed down for the night in Room 13. This is where the session ended for the night.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2

Monday Moodsetter 36

RPG Rorschach: What's the first gaming thought that pops into your head?

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 23 Notes

Session 23 of the Montporte Dungeon was particularly enjoyable. +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor) and +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield) both had groovy posts on this session. You can find Tim's post here and Chris's post here.

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): +Daniel McEntee
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): +Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
Marcus Aurelius (Magic Sword): NPC
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
Session 22 ended with the party finding a new sense of purpose, after Adzeer's conversation with the lost dwarven goddess, Doluth. Conveniently, this purpose coincided with the party's desire to wipe out the breeders and gain treasure.

The party left the temple area (Room 1 on Map A above) and reentered Room 2. Luven, with his magically enhanced hearing, noticed some weird acoustics in the room, like their footsteps were echoing beyond the walls. This led to a search for secret doors and the discovering of corridor heading west out of Room 2.

The party followed the narrow corridor west then south, where the party found themselves at a dead end (Area 3 on Map A). The party found another secret which led west. They found a flight of steps leading down to pond.

Dante cast a light spell on a cross bow bolt and the party used it like a flare to illuminate the far end of the room. Seeing nothing of note, Luven decided to strip down and jump in the water [I hate to mention this, but Luven also peed in the water before he swam...ewww...but we witnessed similar behavior way back in Session 13]. He swam about 30 feet away from the stairs and then saw a large shape under the water, slowly move towards him from the north. He swam back to the safety of the steps. In the meantime, Dante's battleaxe, a potent weapon against "outsiders" (like demons) began to hum with energy.

The shape moved towards the party, surfaced, and attacked. It was a gigantic octopus demon. Adzeer, standing at bottom of the steps was struck by four of the arms and took considerable damage. More alarmingly, the demon had Adzeer in its grasp. The demonic maw opened and Adzeer was pulled towards it.

Adzeer and Octopus Demon (art Google-grabbed by Tim Shorts but is by someone else)

Luven, in an unexpected burst of quick thinking, successfully threw a rope around Adzeer and the party worked to secure it. Improbably, the rope was tied off and there would be a tug `o war for Adzeer.

Seeing the danger, Duncan cast a color spray on the demon (who failed his magic resistance role), which stunned the demon for one round. Adzeer was dropped into the pond. Ansarkhan, Crystal Golem, and Luven pulled Adzeer to safety. In the meantime, Dante cast a flaming sphere, which was automatically effective due to the demon being stunned. Other party members hurled weapons and insults.

Adzeer scurried to safety and cast a web spell into the demon's mouth at the beginning of the next round. This angered the demon, who again unleashed a flurry of tentacle attacks. Adzeer was once again in the demon's grasp and, by this point, very seriously wounded. Duncan unleashed another color spray, stunning the demon and subjecting Adzeer to another swim in the pond. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The party did some more damage to the demon, after which the demon submerged and swam away. This left the brave adventurers both frustrated and relieved. After some conversation about how to lure the demon back, the party came to its senses and left the area.

The party headed back to Room 2 and did some more searching. They found a secret door, which led to Room 5. This room, hidden behind a secret door (which was booby-trapped), had a nice stash of treasure: Gold and silver bars, 2 ioun stones, a shield of acid resistance, the Chalice of Doluth (creates three potions, from a short list, 3 times per day), and Marcus Aurelius, an intelligent magic short sword.

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius turned out to be arrogant and abusive, but also quite useful. He is a +1 short sword of subtlety (+4 when used to backstab). He also had a few powers and a special purpose (killing evil clerics). Luven was beside himself with joy at the find, but Marcus was not thrilled to be paired with a dullard such as Luven.

The party moved back into Room 2 and the session ended for the evening, the party having moved 20' from where they started.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2

Monday Moodsetter 35

"Red Moon" by YongSub Noh

RPG Rorschach: What's the first gaming thought that pops into your head?

Megadungeon Hall of Fame: "Megadungeon Design and Philosophy"

Megadungeons were all the rage in the tabletop RPG blogsphere back in 2008-2009. There are plenty of posts on megadungeon dating back to the period. I have captured a fair number of them here and here...and I am sure that I missed many more posts.

A few posts have value that goes beyond the immediate context in which they were posted. Al's (Beyond the Black Gate) Megadungeon Design and Philosophy is required reading for anyone designing or playing in a megadungeon. It is presented in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Rather than present rules, Al gives an overall philosophical framework for megadungeon design. While I have developed my own approach to designing a megadungeon (basically "Holy Crap, it's Monday night again!"), I go back to his three posts again and again.

Al also has conveniently posted a Megadungeons Resources, with links to his own posts and other online resources. Excellent stuff!

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 22 Notes

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): +Daniel McEntee
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): +Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
Session 21 ended with the brave adventurers bedding down in Room 1 (Map A above). The party was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the start of Session 22, ready for another round of exploration and adventure.

Map B: Room 2

The party headed out of the narrow corridor from Room 1 and found a secret door at the end of the passage, which led them into Room 2 (Map A above). Room 2 had a roughly drawn pentagram on the floor, with five small piles of black wax at each corner of the star (See Map B to the left). There was a human skeleton lying on the floor in the northeast corner of the room. There was a deep reddish brown stain next to the skeleton. There was no blood splatters in the room, so it looked like the victim (skeleton) just bled out in place.

There were also some large chicken feathers in the room. The party concluded that these feathers came from the demon chicken encountered in a nearby room in the last session (Session 21).

As the party was trying to decipher the meaning of the pentagram, skeleton, dried blood, and giant chicken feathers, Luven decided to open the door on the east wall. This opened into a small 10' x 10' space (Room 3), with a another door to the east that led to the room where the chicken demon battle took place in the last session. Luven found another skeleton on the floor. This one had the tattered remnants of clothing (rotting, torn, and blood-stained), a dagger, and a scroll. Oh, there were more giant chicken feathers.

The scroll described a killing with a knife, a possible summoning, and the a vague description of gardens and treasure. The author was apparently barely literate (the scroll can be read here). Luven shared his findings and rejoined the group.

The party found another secret door in the northwestern corner of the room and moved north. The narrow corridor went north for quite a ways and then opened up into a large natural cavern. The room contained two demons--a tusked hairy demon (armed with a club) and a smaller winged scaly demon.

Melee was in the air and the party got the worst of it at the start. The large hairy demon struck the crystal golem with a particularly vicious blow. Ansarshan took two quick hits from the smaller demon. The party did very little damage in return.

Dante yelled something about retreating back to the safety of the corridor but Duncan's color spray managed to stun the larger demon for one round. This was enough to turn the tide, but not before Ansarkhan went down in a heap of mushroom. Dante's burning hands spells finally brought down the smaller demon while ten or so blows to the larger demon, culminating in a timely shot by Little Larry, took out the larger demon.

What started out as a possible rout by the demons, ended up as a quick four-round victory by the party. The party found a some valuable gems, a small amount of gold, and a magic ring for their troubles. More importantly, the demons also had two of the strange glass pane magic items that defied the party's previous investigations. The had found a similar item in Session 6. They found out a bit more about it from Nevin and Pavel in Session 9. Allidrihl gave them more information in Session 10.

The party then moved west into Room 5. This area was clearly made by dwarves. The stonework was simple, with no ornamentation, but it is spectacular. Clearly, a lot of time and energy went into the construction of this area.

The group moved south into Room 6. They were puzzled by this area, as there was a whisper of air when they opened the iron door. Inside, the room was spotless. No dust. This made everyone a bit nervous until Adzeer, using the power of the Belt of Dwarvenkind, concluded that the room was so well made that it had created hermetic seal.

The party then continued to move south into Room 7 (Mapy A above). The iron doors were very cold, so the party entered the area carefully. The room had two pools near the door and, at the far end, a statue, altar, and stone block platform (about 2' tall and 5' on a side). The party heard a white noise as soon as they entered, but it had a vague musical quality to it. Adzeer could hear a bit more. In the dwarven tongue, he heard a female voice say "revenge...recall...redeem" over and over.

The group tried to move south but only Adzeer could move past the pools. There was some sort of invisible barrier that prevented the rest of the group from entering. Adzeer could feel the cold coming from the low stone platform and he could sense the presence of divine power and an overwhelming sense of sadness. The statue was an abstract form of a dwarven woman, garbed in a robe. Adzeer was almost certain it was Doluth, the lost goddess of the dwarves, no longer an active part of the religion of contemporary dwarves.

Adzeer heard a female voice in his head:
Voice: Why have you come?
Adzeer: To find glory and riches.
Voice: I have no need of such.
Voice: Revenge...recall...redeem…
Voice: Revenge my people...recall my warriors...redeem their honor.
Adzeer: How do I do this?
Voice: Recall my warriors' spirits...I have hidden them deep within the land of the enemy.
Adzeer: Where?

Voice:  I have saved a portion of each of their souls in the vials…find the pool that matches them.
Adzeer: And then?
Voice: Destroy the flesh eaters as they have destroyed us. I have hidden my warriors in the midst of the enemy, beyond where they bury their dead. You will find answers to that which puzzles you as well.

The stone platform had thirty small holes in it. Each contained a glass vial. Each was incredibly cold. Adzeer carefully gathered the vials and placed them in the party's dwarven chest of holding.

This is where the session ended for the night.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Some Maps After Last Night's Session (Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 22)

A tale of exploration from the last three sessions, told in maps. The players, +Chris C., +Daniel McEntee, +Rob Conley, and +Tim Shorts, decided to head back to Level 1 and they headed north, in search of ancient dwarven treasure.

Session 22 (Last Night)

Session 21

Session 20

Session 19

Monday Moodsetter 34

"Last Cleric"

RPG Rorschach: What's the first gaming thought that pops into your head?

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 21 Notes

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the First Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): +Daniel McEntee
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): +Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
Session 20 ended with the brave adventurers entering Room 1 (Map A above) from the east and checking out the continual light on a wrought iron pole in the middle of the room.

The party moved north towards a second continual light on a pole in Room 2. The party had noticed that this area of the dungeon had simple stonework, yet it was of the highest craftsmanship. Obviously made by dwarves, which much time and effort.

The party entered Room 2 and mapped out the corridors leading west and north. It was Adzeer's plan that the party continue to turn left at every point until something turned up--like treasure or a better plan. The party was planning on exploring the southern door in the corridor heading west but Luven heard a series of deep guttural clucking sounds coming from the door at the far western end of the corridor (the door leading into Room 3).

The party decided to investigate and when the entered the room, they were greeted by a giant 9' tall chicken. And, based on the reaction of some of the party's magic items, it was no ordinary giant chicken. It was a demon chicken.

It was an angry demon chicken, so melee occurred immediately. The demon chicken was one tough old bird, but the party prevailed in surprisingly short order due to some quick spell casting that left the demon stunned for a few rounds. The demon chicken did not prove to be the challenge that it could have been, but it did trigger a flurry of off-color jokes [which you can read here].

Room 3 (Map A above) had a stone table with three flames coming out of it (near the door on the eastern side of the room), a serious of columns with continue light globes attached to them in sconces, and a simple stone altar on the western side of the room. It also had a secret door on the south wall, which was discovered by the party after checking out the flame table and altar.

The secret door led to a series of rooms, each connected by a secret door (Rooms 4, 5, and 6, plus Corridor 7). Room 6 had three locked chests in it, each lock being finely crafted by dwarves. Luven and Duncan were able to open the chests, despite the locks, and the party loaded themselves up with gold and silver.

The party decided to rest and recuperate in Room 5. This is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 20 Notes

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the First Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): +Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
Session 19 ended with the brave adventurers finishing up their trading with the goblin party in Room 1 (Map A above). The goblins, along with ponies, wagon, oafs, and glyff exited the room through the southern door.
The party was then left to debate what to do. There was considerable discussion about the dwarven treasure they had read about in Session 11. Allindrihl, the elven mushroom farmer, had told them about a similar location (same?) north of the mines on Level 1 (Session 16). The party realized that exploring the mines on Level 2 were not going to get them to the dwarven treasure, so they decided to head up the stairs from Room 1 (Map A above), which led them into Room 2 (Map B below).

Map B (1 square = 5 feet)

Room 2 was part of the mines of Level 1. They knew that the treasure was north of the mines, but they had into a dead end of sorts and  did not know the way north from Room 2, so they decided to head west.

The party entered a large mining area with a pool of water in the middle (Room 3 on Map B above). The party did not have much time to contemplate this large room as they were attacked by a horde of undead dwarves, armed with picks. The party was outnumbered but they benefited by the lack of coordination among the undead dwarven things. The dwarves attacked piecemeal. A small group of them did duck out a side corridor but the party rightly guessed that they would be in for a flanking attack and prepared to meet it. In the end, the undead dwarves were overcome with only Luven suffering the effects of their attack (which turned out to be temporary).

The party continued west and found a narrow flight of stairs that led down to Room 4 (Map B above). There was a wooden trap door in the ceiling that the party managed to reach by lifting up Luven. He opened the trap door and found a narrow corridor heading east. Ansarkhan boosted the rest of the party into the corridor and then climbed in after (being a tall mushroom man, he only needed a bit of a vertical leap to get a good grip and pull himself up).

The party entered a small room, followed another narrow corridor and then found a secret door in the ceiling at the end of the corridor. They opened the secret door and ended up inside a stone sarcophagus with a dwarven skeleton. They popped the top off of the sarcophagus and found themselves in Room 5 (Map B above).

Room 5 and the room to the east of it each had eight sarcophagi in them, which the party deemed ripe for plundering. And some plunder was had by all.

The party then moved east to Room 6 (Map B above). This room contained a low circular dias with a wrought iron pole and a continual light globe securely attached to it.

This is where we ended the session for the night.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 19 Notes

I've had a hard time writing the session notes from our game night a few weeks ago, in no small part because of computer issues. There was no exploration and no combat in Session 19. Just a lot of groovy role-playing and bargaining that it is hard to capture in a blog post.

The Cast
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the First Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): +Tim Shorts  (Gothridge Manor)
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Wizard/Thief): +Daniel McEntee
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): +Chris C.   (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Thief): +Rob Conley  (Bat in the Attic)
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, Marksman): NPC
Ansarkhan ("Mushroom Man", Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Crystal Golem (Crystal Golem)
5 cave goats

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
At the end of Session 18, the brave adventurers had decided to bed down for the night in Room 1 (Map A above). After an uneventful night, the party headed out of the room. Luven--his hearing now improved by the Earring of Stoss--heard some noise coming from Room 2.

Luven listened at the door in the south end of Room 2 and heard goblin voices. He was not able to understand what they were saying, but recognized the language. He had some childhood memories of his very wealthy uncle having some secret dealings with goblins (which Luven eavesdropped as a young sneak).

Before the party could prepare to cautiously enter the room, Luven ripped open the door and entered. In the room, he and the party saw the following:

• Three goblins, one of which was two-headed, all wearing brightly colored clothing. The party later learned that their names were William, Fred, and Wilbur/Walter (the two-headed goblin).
• Four oafs, which were similar to ogres, only shorter and thicker. They were heavily armed.
• One glyff. Glyffs are small fey, about two feet in height that never speak. They function as attorneys to interpret the Seelie Accords.
• One brightly colored wagon.
• Two stout ponies.

After some initial hostile posturing, the party learned that (1) goblins are fey; (2) gobins liked to trade; (3) goblins have lots of cool stuff in their wagons to sell; and (4) in order to trade with a goblin, one has to sign the Seelie Accords, a giant tome of convoluted regulations that govern the lives of the fey.

After some fast-talking by William, the goblin spokesman, Luven signed the Seelie Accords and bought a much-needed restoration potion. Duncan, hesitant at first, was lured into signing the Seelie Accords as well. He was lured in by the offer of a free magic hat.

Dante was tempted to sign the Seelie Accords, but declined in the end. The goblins had explained that the main restriction was that the Seelie Accords prohibited Luven and Duncan from trading with any other goblins. However, Dante was skeptical, given the size of the Accords (several thousand pages of small print) and the dense, Byzantine language of the text. Adzeer, for his part, kept his counsel and simply waited for the trading to end.

And end it did, as did the session.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1

Level 2